Artist of the day: The Leonard Croon Band

Over the years, Dunedin Brewery has produced several music-themed beers, including Dropkick Murphys Erin Red Ale, a nod to the famed Celtic punk band (I'm Shipping Up To Boston.) In March, when the Dropkick Murphys perform at the Ritz Ybor in Tampa, Dunedin Brewery’s Dropkick Murphys Erin Red Ale will be on tap at the venue.

But Dropkick Murphys Erin Red Ale wasn't the first music-themed beer produced by the good folks on Douglas Avenue. That would be Leonard Croon's Old Mean Stout, a nod to the defunt '90s local group known as The Leonard Croon Band.

The group sprung from the ashes of Hum, a popular early-'90s group that was forced to change its name when it learned that another band had claimed it first. Frontman Dave Korman -- whom you might remember from yesterday's Artist of the Day, Memphis Train Union -- picked a new name off the top of his head. The name “Leonard Croon” had no special significance, he said — he just liked the sound of it.

Korman and his rotating group of musician friends plied their alt-country trade throughout the Bay area in the '90s, opening for artists like Leon Russell, Dickey Betts, Kansas and Little Feat. But their most lasting contribution to Bay area culture may be creating the namesake for Leonard Croon's Old Mean Stout, a popular seasonal beer that started flowing this week at Dunedin Brewery. On Saturday, the brewery will start selling 22-ounce bottles of Leonard Croon’s Old Mean Stout. Memphis Train Union will perform at the event. Click here for our story about the beer and its connection to Korman's music. (That's Korman, above left, with Dunedin Brewery brewer Trace Caley.)

If there are some Leonard Croon Band fans out there, you might be interested to know that Memphis Train Union's new CD, The Bluebird Sessions, features three re-recorded LCB songs: Queen City, Devils Elbow and Come Along. “When I was in the studio, we had a keyboard player and an organ player," Korman said. "I never recorded those songs with a keyboard and organ, so we jammed on it, and it was like, ‘Wow, this sounds way better.’”